Visit Festival of Butterflies July 17-August 3! Click for Hours & Admission
Originally designed to demonstrate the beauty and utility of edible plants and opened in 2008, the Heartland Harvest Garden has showcased fruit trees, vegetables, herbs, grains, and more in creative and inspiring ways. It has helped visitors reconnect with where their food comes from and understand how plants nourish our bodies as well as our spirits.
In the coming seasons, Powell Gardens visitors will notice construction alongside new plantings and evolving displays. The changes will incorporate more native and regionally adapted species into a less labor-intensive design that ensures long-term sustainability. The garden will still include food-producing plants, but their placement and care will be optimized to support pollinators, soil health, and water conservation.
“This space will grow to be a hands-on experience where visitors can see regenerative practices in action,” said Director of Horticulture Phil Bishop. “It’s one thing to read about these ideas—it’s another to walk through them, touch them, and see the life they support.”
While the garden is growing in a new direction, its heart remains the same: Celebrating the relationship between people and plants in the Midwest.
As with any change, this transition will take time, care, and community support. If you believe in the power of native plants AND sustainable agriculture, we invite you to grow with us.
The Missouri Barn and Silo, designed by Maurice Jennings Architects, is built of cedar wood with room for 200 under its eaves.
Visitors may grab a snack or beverage here as they take in views of the Villandry and Children’s Gardens. The silo, modeled after traditional Missouri barn silos, is 45 feet tall. Visitors may climb to the top for some of the best views in the Garden.
The most traveled path into the Heartland Garden passes through two greenhouses. The right and left houses feature plants from our tropical and arid collections.
Larger specimens will stay in place throughout the year. New additions will be added to the greenhouses during seasonal festivals! A living wall of succulents is a feature of the arid collections house.
A potager garden is a kitchen garden in the French country style. Seasonal plantings of vegetables, herbs, and flowers are mingled in a beautifully designed space that is both romantic and practical. Look for a tapestry of colors and shapes featuring edible plants.
A central walk bisects rows of grapes, ending at a wine cask fountain set under a beautiful rose and grape-clad arbor. The vineyard provides space for small garden gatherings. We suggest a stopping for a picnic lunch or enjoying a glass of wine from the The Marketplace. The fire pits in this area during Festival of Lights make it a popular place to warm up on chilly nights.
Chateau Villandry, located outside Paris, France, inspired this formal garden within the Heartland Harvest Garden.
The Villandry is a massive kitchen garden in the formal French style that combines beauty with the utility of fruits and vegetables. The renewal of plants each season not only makes for dynamic visual interest but provides the ecological benefit of crop rotation, which helps to reduce disease and pest pressure. The Villandry is made up of four different quadrants, each with its own theme each year.
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